It seems like original, well executed ideas
are hard to come by these days.  In a time of rehashed storylines and
unimaginative comics hitting the shelves it is rare that a book can
generate a lot of excitement unless it is a crossover or
mega-event/tie-in issue.  When I saw the title of a new miniseries from
Shadowline/Image Comics by the name of Cowboy Ninja Viking I
have to admit my level of excitement was very high.  I know it is a
little superficial to get excited about a book by name alone but I was
intrigued to see what this book had to offer.  Eager not to get my
hopes dashed I took the approach that this title was too good to be
true and there was no way it could be as cool as I hoped.  Well I was
right.  It was not as cool as I thought it was going to be … 

… it was better! 

The book is about a group of
counter-intelligence assassins who were created from multiple
personality disorder patients.  After all, what is better than a highly
trained assassin?  How about three highly trained assassins in one
body?  These assassins were simply known as the Triplets.  They were
the creation of Dr. Sebastian Ghislain, a rogue psychotherapist/cover
op/DJ.  As we find out the idea was misguided, impractical and a
complete failure and that is the good news.  Somebody has located each
of the triplets and created a band of “ridiculously disturbed and
highly effective assassins”.  Our only hope is the Triplet known as
Cowboy Ninja Viking.      

While the concept behind this book is
creative and unique, there have been lots of titles with original ideas
that failed due to poor execution.  That is not a problem with this
book because the execution is nearly flawless.  The writing is fun and
witty while the dialogue seems natural and reminds me of the types of
conversations a group of buddies would have while sitting around
drinking a beer.  The funny part is in this book that dialogue is not
shared with a group of guys but rather they all take place in the mind
of a single person.  Saying that, this is a highly medicated person who
carries a sword and a gun!  Lieberman shows a lot of range in his
dynamic story telling of an underground group of killers and the mad
scientist that put them all together.   

Riley Rossmo has a unique style in his art.  Known for his ongoing Image Comics series, Proof,
Rossmo’s art provides loose flowing lines in each panel.  I was
surprised to see the book’s art was not fully colored but rather was
done in a single tone approach similar to that of Matt Fraction/Fabio
Moon’s Casanova.  The tone only coloring works really well
for this book but I have to wonder what it would have looked like in
full color.  Don’t let that question confuse you because I think the
art was absolutely amazing and shows a lot of growth since Rossmo’s
first work in Seven Sons.  I am sure there will be those that
are critical of Rossmo’s style but I believe it perfectly compliments
the written story telling through the development concise visual story
telling. 

There are so many things that make this book but one of the most
underrated items would be the word balloons used when the Triplets are
talking.  It could have been a challenge to know who was talking at a
given time but creating word balloons with icons representing each of
the characters was a great solution and a fun aspect to the book.  Yes,
I am talking about word balloons but I have to say I loved just about
every aspect of this book.      

This book has a lot to offer.  It is creative and well written.  The
art is stylistic and a perfect compliment to developing the overall
story.  I know there are those that are intrigued by this book based on
the title alone.  I know I was one of those people.  That is okay.  But
this book offers substance beyond the glitz of offering a Cowboy, a
Ninja, and a Viking.  Fans of books like Casanova and Umbrella Academy
will find a lot to like about this title.  For those of you that are on
the fence and wondering if you should give it a chance I can described
the book in three words.  Creative. Fun. Good.      

Rating: 9 out of 10 (Excellent!)